PATNA: With Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) having joined UPA on Thursday, the smouldering tussle over the sharing of Lok Sabha seats among the parties in Bihar’s Opposition Grand Alliance is likely to intensify.
RLSP, which walked out of NDA on December 10 mainly because it was being offered only two seats instead of the five it demanded, has reportedly told both Congress and RJD that it must be given no less than seven seats to contest. With Congress having already demanded at least 16 out of the total 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, the new arrangement is set to raise the pressure on RJD for a compromise, said sources.
RJD, the main party in the Grand Alliance, had contested on 27 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, having given 12 seats for Congress. RJD had won just four seats while Congress managed two. This time around, RJD under Tejashwi Yadav’s leadership has appeared unwilling to contest on fewer than 27 seats, which is why there has been no consensus on a seat-sharing pact so far. Congress, after its impressive show in recent Assembly polls in three states, is adamant on getting 16 seats to contest.
The Grand Alliance now has six constituents – RJD, Congress, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), RLSP, Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) and the Left parties. Sources said LJD is set for a merger with RLSP later this month and that the move would bolster RLSP’s demand for seven seats – five for Kushwaha’s group and two for Yadav’s.
“The Grand Alliance has become much stronger now after RLSP’s entry, but sharing of seats would be a bit difficult under the new situation,” said a senior RJD leader. “The seat-sharing pact would be finalised after consulting jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. We will contest the largest number of seats, no less than 20,” he added.